Deborah's Devil

Deborah's Devil

In the suburbs near Cleveland strange footprints began appearing
in the snow of the winter season. Inexplicably shaped liked tear-dropped
hooves, the prints and accompanying creature apparently walked up
to several buildings before stammering through balconies only to
continue its path. Was this the same creature that terrorized the
small town of Devonshire, England over one hundred and forty years
ago?

The small Ohio town was enveloped by snowfall of at least eight
inches on January 23, 2000 when the strange tracks began to appear.
The tracks themselves ranged from ¾ to 1½ inches wide. Due to distortion
in the snow, a consistent measurement could not be taken. The average
stride of the creature appeared to go up to roughly four feet as
the creature walked up to buildings and up to various balconies.
Although in most areas the prints appeared to be of the hoof variety,
various spots where the creature went up embankments in the snow
revealed U shaped prints.

Due to the strange placement of many of the prints- including through
balcony railings and under low laying trees, the possibility of
the trail being man made was ruled out early. In some instances
circle tracks appeared parallel to the creatures tracks and in other
places the tracks disappeared suddenly.

The case itself resembles the Devonshire Devil Footprints report
to such an amazing degree that it appears the same hoofed creature
made both prints. In both instances the creature was able to travel
through small openings, such as balconies, and under objects no
man could fit under.

Local resident Deborah was sent into a frenzy trying to explain
the bizarre phenomenon. After using several rolls of film to capture
the tracks, Deborah was able to get several opinions on the tracks-
including those of a local naturalist.

The general opinion was that a rabbit was able to create the tracks-
and the tracks of the Devonshire case. The snow itself was wet,
dense and heavy, often times mixed with freezing rain which combined
with great depth means the prints were most likely formed from a
hopping rabbit as it searched for food. Natural drift allowed the
prints to become similar in size and hoof shaped. The rabbit's distinguishing
marks- such as claws and the animals' basic body outline- were hidden
due to the degradation in snow quality. The ability of the devil
to disappear in midfield can easily be explained by drift.

The parallel circles which followed the tracks in some places were
most likely dogs and cats as they tracked the rabbit. The devil's
seemingly four-foot stride can be accounted for by the rabbit's
ability to leap the distance. Since the creature is small, it could
easily fit beneath and between objects, giving the impression of
something supernatural.

As with the Devonshire Devil's Footprints, the combination of rabbit
behavior, thaw, drift and snow quality can create a monster. It
can be now be concluded that both the Deborah's Devil and the Devil's
Footprints cases are closed.